Let me introduce you to my In Dreams shawl.  The color is more like the top photo.  It's a coppery color with beads that pick up the light and shimmer.

The yarn is an alpaca/silk blend laceweight (sienna) from WEBS and the beads are size 8 triangular gold/cranberry. 
                                                                                                                                                                            

I started this in the middle of February as part of a Lord of the Rings (Two Towers) kal.  It went well in the beginning, at least for the first few clues but then there was a problem and suddenly I couldn't count and my stitch count was off and I put it away for the months of June and July.

Sometime in August, (when it was hot and miserable), I picked it back up and decided to rip out the section that I was having trouble with and to start the last two and a half clues over.  I put in a life line and started again. 

And this time, we worked well together.  As the rows grew longer, I could see the pattern developing and was getting excited.  And then I could see the end and worked as often as I could so I could finally get it off the needles.

It has weight to it and is warm and soft.  The beads pick up the light and reflect it so it looks like bits of stars caught in the yarn. 

I'm a little lost now that it's done.  I'm not sure what to do with myself!  I have some small things for the holidays that I am working on but no large project on the needles.  I have the Ancient Woodlands shawl pattern that I loved waiting in the wings so maybe that will be next.  And maybe some spinning.  It's been woefully neglected.

I got the last shipment of the Tea and Yarn from the Unique Sheep today.  It's a 4 skein gradience made of cotton and bamboo and I'm not quite sure what to do with it.  There's just over 400 yds and it's greens into purples.  Pk likes it but I told him it wouldn't make good socks.  Maybe a lightweight scarf for him for the fall.  I'm not quite sure and I'll have to spend some time looking.  Anybody have a thought?

There were 7 people in the knitting group today, although most of them were crocheting.  Everyone seems afraid of the "two needles" (and I wasn't even knitting socks with 4 needles today) and wanted to try the hook.  It's going well.  One woman is working on a knitted scarf and she's playing with the stitches, some rows are knitted and some are purled and some are garter.  It's all very random and she loves it.  I'm making a scarf for me (the yarn harlot's one row) out of the cream colored alpaca for the winter.  It's so soft.  I need to remember not to knit with it when I'm wearing black pants, though.

Otherwise, things are quiet here.  And suddenly cold.  It was warm and very humid this morning.  And now, 12 hours later, I'm wearing sweat pants and socks and sitting under a blanket.  I know it's not really that cold (and my hands and feet are always cold) but it's the suddenness of it.  We're looking at a cool day tomorrow.  It's very welcome.